Question: Two identical rectangular crates are packed with cylindrical pipes, using different methods. Each pipe has diameter 10 cm.  A side view of the first four rows of each of the two different methods of packing is shown below.

[asy]
draw(circle((1,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((3,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((5,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((7,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((9,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((11,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((13,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((15,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((17,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((19,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((1,3),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((3,3),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((5,3),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((7,3),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((9,3),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((11,3),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((13,3),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((15,3),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((17,3),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((19,3),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((1,5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((3,5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((5,5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((7,5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((9,5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((11,5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((13,5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((15,5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((17,5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((19,5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((1,7),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((3,7),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((5,7),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((7,7),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((9,7),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((11,7),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((13,7),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((15,7),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((17,7),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((19,7),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw((0,15)--(0,0)--(20,0)--(20,15),black+linewidth(1));
dot((10,9));
dot((10,11));
dot((10,13));
label("Crate A",(10,0),S);
[/asy]

[asy]
draw(circle((1,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((3,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((5,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((7,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((9,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((11,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((13,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((15,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((17,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((19,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((2,2.75),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((4,2.75),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((6,2.75),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((8,2.75),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((10,2.75),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((12,2.75),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((14,2.75),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((16,2.75),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((18,2.75),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((1,4.5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((3,4.5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((5,4.5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((7,4.5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((9,4.5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((11,4.5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((13,4.5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((15,4.5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((17,4.5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((19,4.5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((2,6.25),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((4,6.25),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((6,6.25),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((8,6.25),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((10,6.25),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((12,6.25),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((14,6.25),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((16,6.25),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((18,6.25),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw((0,15)--(0,0)--(20,0)--(20,15),black+linewidth(1));
dot((10,9));
dot((10,11));
dot((10,13));
label("Crate B",(10,0),S);
[/asy]

After the crates have been packed with 200 pipes each, what is the positive difference in the total heights (in cm) of the two packings?
Explanation: In Crate A, we have 20 rows of 10 pipes packed directly on top of each other.  So the height of the packing is 20 times the diameter of a single pipe, or 200 cm. In Crate B, draw a horizontal line through the centers of the 9 or 10 pipes in each row. By symmetry, the distance between each consecutive pair of these 21 lines will be the same, say equal to $d$.  There will be 20 such distances.

[asy]
unitsize(0.25cm);
draw(circle((1,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((3,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((5,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((7,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((9,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((11,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((13,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((15,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((17,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((19,1),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((2,2.75),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((4,2.75),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((6,2.75),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((8,2.75),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((10,2.75),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((12,2.75),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((14,2.75),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((16,2.75),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((18,2.75),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((1,4.5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((3,4.5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((5,4.5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((7,4.5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((9,4.5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((11,4.5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((13,4.5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((15,4.5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((17,4.5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((19,4.5),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((2,6.25),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((4,6.25),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((6,6.25),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((8,6.25),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((10,6.25),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((12,6.25),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((14,6.25),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((16,6.25),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw(circle((18,6.25),1),black+linewidth(1));
draw((0,15)--(0,0)--(20,0)--(20,15),black+linewidth(1));
dot((10,9));
dot((10,11));
dot((10,13));
draw((-4,1)--(24,1),black+linewidth(1));
draw((-4,2.75)--(24,2.75),black+linewidth(1));
draw((-4,4.5)--(24,4.5),black+linewidth(1));
draw((-4,6.25)--(24,6.25),black+linewidth(1));
label("$d$",(25,3),S);
label("$d$",(25,4.75),S);
label("$d$",(25,6.5),S);
[/asy]

The distance of the bottom line from the bottom of the crate is equal to the radius of a pipe, and the distance of the top line from the top of the top row is also equal to the radius of a pipe. Thus, the total height of the packing in Crate B is equal to $(10+20d)$ cm.

Next, we find $d$. If we extract three pairwise touching pipes from two consecutive rows, their centers form an equilateral triangle with side length equal to the diameter of each pipe, so $d$ is equal to the height of this equilateral triangle, i.e. $d=5\sqrt{3}$ cm.  Therefore, the total height of this packing is $(10+100\sqrt{3})$ cm, which is approximately 183.2 cm.

Therefore, the difference in the total heights of the two packings is $$200-(10+100\sqrt{3})=\boxed{190-100\sqrt{3}}$$cm, or about 16.8 cm, with the packing in Crate A being the higher one.